Which Olive Oil Survives Hot Pan Best?
Effect of Heating Temperature of High-Quality Arbequina, Picual, Manzanilla and Cornicabra Olive Oils on Changes in Nutritional Indices of Lipid, Tocopherol Content and Triacylglycerol Polymerization Process
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Picual and Cornicabra oils retained over 20% of their antioxidant vitamin E even after being heated to 200°C—while Arbequina lost 100%.
Most assume all EVOO is fragile under heat, but this shows some varieties are naturally heat-resistant due to higher MUFA and antioxidant content.
Practical Takeaways
Use Picual or Cornicabra EVOO (or blends labeled 'Sensation') for frying, sautéing, or roasting above 170°C. Save Arbequina for dressings.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Picual and Cornicabra oils retained over 20% of their antioxidant vitamin E even after being heated to 200°C—while Arbequina lost 100%.
Most assume all EVOO is fragile under heat, but this shows some varieties are naturally heat-resistant due to higher MUFA and antioxidant content.
Practical Takeaways
Use Picual or Cornicabra EVOO (or blends labeled 'Sensation') for frying, sautéing, or roasting above 170°C. Save Arbequina for dressings.
Publication
Journal
Molecules
Year
2023
Authors
D. Kmiecik, M. Fedko, Justyna Małecka, A. Siger, P. Kowalczewski
Related Content
Claims (10)
When you heat certain types of olive oil really hot, the healthy antioxidant called alpha-tocopherol disappears completely in some kinds, but not as much in others — Picual and Cornicabra oils hold up better.
When olive oil gets super hot, it starts forming gummy, big molecules called dimers — and the amount depends on the type of olive oil: blends with more Arbequina make way more than those with more Picual.
When you cook olive oil at very high heat, the good unsaturated fats break down faster than the saturated ones — especially in oils that started with more unsaturated fats, making them less healthy for cooking.
Heating olive oil really hot makes it get gunkier — about 4.5 times more than at a lower heat — but even at the highest temperature, it doesn’t get gunky enough to be considered unsafe by food safety standards.
Some olive oils — like Picual and Cornicabra — hold up better when heated than others, like Arbequina and Manzanilla, because they lose fewer healthy compounds and form less gunk when cooked.